Expanding-machine.



T. n. KANE. v

EXPANDING MACHINE. Arm-mums rn-zn JULY 11, 1011.

Patented Sept. 26,1911,

" 8 SEEMS-SHEET 1.

: -T. H. KANE. I

EXPANDING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED JULY 17, 1911.

I 4 274 i Patented Sept. 26,1911.

' B SHEETS-BEBE! 2.

T. H. KANE. v

EXPANDING MACHINE. APPLIOATIOH FILED JULY 11, 1011.

Patented se t. 26, 1911.

a BR1111154111121: a.

- WITNESSES:

; UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- THOMAS HENRY KANE, 0F YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO, ASSIGNOR- TO TRUSSEIj CONCRETE 'STEEL COMPANY, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN.

EXPANDING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 26,1911.

Application filed July 17, 1911. Serial No. 638,935

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS H. KANE, a. citizen of the United States, and a resident of Youngstown, in the county of Mahoning and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Expanding- Machine, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to means for expanding slitted sheet metal, and its object is to provide a machine which. shall be rapid and positive in its operation and which may be constructed at low cost.

In the drawings'of the patent to Forsyth, No. 862,897, dated August 13, 1907, expanded metal and the process for producing the same are described. The present invention and the machine shown in the accompanying drawing are not limited to metal which has been slitted and partially formed as shown in the Forsyth patent, but maybe employed with sheet metal slitted according to various other systems. The expanded metal of the Forsyth patent is therefore tov be considered as only a desirable type of the materials which can be operated upon by the machine shown in the drawings.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a plan and Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the machine. Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3 -3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 41 is azfront end elevation of the machine. Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is an elevation of a section of a pair of rolls. Fig. 7 1s a section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1 on a larger scale. Fig. 8 is a view showing a sheet of metal in process of expansion.

Similar reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views.

The sheet metal of the Forsyth patent is first formed with slits, after which the tongues 8 are-bent outward. The tongues 8 are split and have small cross bars 7 at their ends, which are bent at right angles to the tongues. The-upper portions of the tongues are connected to the longitudinal strands-6. In the present case, the sheet metal is shown formed with wide strands 10, alternating with groups of the narrow strands 6, which strands 10 are ribbed, that is, formed sub-' stantially U shaped.

The machine shown in the drawings comprises a base 12 ofanydesired form and height. A longitudinally extending driving shaft 13 may be mounted in the be'arings'M carried by this base. At the front end of the base are frames 19 in which are slots 20 to receive the bearings 15 for the journals 17 of the rolls 16 and 18. At one end of one of the rolls, preferably of the lower, is secured a bevel gear 21 which meshes with a gear 22 on the shaft 13.

At the rear end of the base are other frames 24 with slots 25 and 26 for the bearings 27. In these hearings are mounted the journals of the rolls 28, 29, BOand 31. Secured to the ends of the rolls 29 and30 are bevel gears 82, which mesh with bevel gears 33 on the shaft 13. The rolls 30 and 31 are straightening rolls and operate in the usual manner.

Resting on the base are bars 35 which support the lower drawing die 36. The upper die 37 restson the lower and may be positioned by pins 38. See Fig. 5. Bars 39pxtend across from the frames 24 to the frames 19 and hold down the upper die, being secured in position by any desired number of bolts 40.

The drawing dies are formed with diverging tongues 41. and 42 and grooves43 to receive and hold the, ribs 10 of the sheet metal. Spaces are left between the ribs 46 to permit the movement of thetongues8 of the sheet metal.

As shown in Figs. 4 and 6, the upper rolls have collars 44, while the lower rolls are formed with grooves 45 and collars 46. The distances between these ribs 44 on the roll 16 and on the roll 28 will be substantially the same as the distances between the tongues 11 at the frontand rear ends respectively of the drawing dies. The height of theupper by the screws 48, mounted rolls is controlled in the bars 39.

If slitted sheet metal is fed to the machine before being ribbed, the first action of the rolls 16 and 18 will be to form, ribs from the imperforate strands and to also partially expand the material. These rolls will grip After leaving the expanding dies,

- with grooves and ribs diverging from the T lftheslittedi sheet metal is aireaag ribbed,

J "as shownat the upper endof Fig. 8,":thei1 the rolls l6 and 18 will merely act asjfeed rolls to force'thematerial along between the ex- 7 panding'dies 36 and 37. The other rolls will act in the manner before explained. In this expansion, the split tongues 8 will open and their sides will swing up around their connections with the strands 6, while the small connecting bars 7 will be bent as shown in Fig a.

Having now explained this construction,

what I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters vPatent is v corresponding gitudinally of the r0 s at greater distances 1 1. In a machine for expanding slitted' sheet metal, the combination of a frame, a pairof rolls at one end of the same, -one having a series of collars and the other a series grooves, a second pair of rolls spaced a distance from the first pair and also formed with similarcollars and grooves spaced lon- V apart, and apair of expanding dies extending between the pairs of rolls and formed first to the second set of rolls; 1

2. In -a machine for expanding slitted sheet metal, the combination of a frame, a pair of rolls mounted at one end of the same, the lower roll formed with aseries of regularly' spaced circumferential grooves, the

' upper roll formed with a series of collars adapted to extend into the grooves,.a pair of drawing dies 'adiacent the rolls, the lower a die having ,a series of grooves, spaced at one end to correspond to the grooves in the lower roll and adjacent thereto to receive material from the rolls, said grooves diverging from the rolls, and a-second pair of rollsof circumferential;

ing witnesses.

mounted at the opposite ends of the dies and having grooves and co'llars similar to those of the first pair of rolls but spaced the same as the adjacent ends of the grooves and ribs of the drawing dies.

3. In a machine for expanding slitted sheet metal, the combination of a frame, a

pair of stationary drawingdies mounted pair of flat and stationary drawing dies mounted on the frame, one of the dies having diverging grooves and the other die having ribs extending intosaid grooves, and a pair of feed rolls mounted at each end of the dies to cause the sheet metal to move through between the same.

5. In a machine for expanding slitted sheet metal, the combination of a frame, a

pair of flat and stationary--11 rawing .dies' mounted on the frame, one-pf the dies having' diverging grooves and the other die havmg ribs extending into" said grooves, a pair of feed rolls mounted at eachend 'ofthe dies to cause the sheet metal to move through between the same, rolls't'o'straighten' the expanded metal, rolls; i

In testimony-Wheretf I have" .-s1g ned this specification in the presence of two'suhscriband means'to drivathe THQMAS HENRY KANE. Witnesses: f

' H. B. FoLsoM,

T. J HADDON. v 

